I found this today, and thought it was so powerful that it was worth copying and sharing, Sorry the place that I found it does not have who actually authored these words, but they sum up feelings I have had for some time now. Im sitting here alone...and trying my best to gather my thoughts on why yesterdays election results scare me so, and why so many Americans have gone against what our previous generations fought and died for. Over the past eleven years, Ive watched the country, which I had so much love and respect for, turn into something quite foreign to me. No longer are we united in the values of which the founders of this nation wished for us to be. Over this short span, we have shown ourselves not embracing these values, but allowing ourselves to be told how to think, how to vote, how to pray, how to love, and how to treat your fellow man... not questioning any of it at all. Who are these people who now hold the strings? Who is it that now dangles our very lives over a flame at their own whim? They have not only made puppets of their own politicians, but now...they are prepared, and are succeeding to do the very same of us all. I often think of the quote by Patrick Henry united we stand, divided we fall......and it seems each day, we as a society get closer and closer to the brink of the unthinkable. Never in my life would I have ever dreamed that America would lose its way and become a country whose citizenry have formed two camps, battling one another over political and religious philosophies, and all to the detriment of us all. Thinking back over my sixty-two years, I do remember a time when America was the shining example of what free enterprise, hard work, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and family meant to all of us. It was a time when diversity was held in high esteem. We took pride in the fact that America was indeed a melting pot of all creeds and cultures. We lived in a time where the highest aspirations one could achieve were attainable. We were taught if you worked hard, found some sort of higher education, then again...worked hard, anything one could dream could be possible. We were taught that to live in this wonderful country, one had to pay his taxes, not only to enable the country to grow and thrive, but to care for those less fortunate and to make sure the elderly were cared for. These were the values in which my patriotism were grounded. Now....we find ourselves in a time where none of these values seem very important. We are pitted against one another, both on political and religious grounds. We have allowed ourselves to become complacent, while people with little regard to our history, toy with our democracy and way of life. Our freedoms have been attacked in these past few years, and we have acted like the scared child on the playground, letting the bullies have their way with us. And in doing so, our way of life has changed dramatically...and not for the better. Today, we find that the American citizen takes a backseat to those now in power...the corporations which have now been deemed people, the moneychangers of Wall Street, the military industrial complex, all of these, which have eaten away so much of what once made America truly strong. When will it change? When will it stop?.....Now I shudder to think what lies ahead for all of us. Money, greed, power, the total lack of respect others of differing opinions or faiths, and no respect for the planet on which we plant our feet.....this seems to be the mantra of todays America. These values have been preached over and over again since that sad day in 2001 when we were told..If youre not with us, youre against us. It was at that moment when we as a once great nation began our tumble into the abyss and where we find ourselves at this moment in time. Once great cities are laying to waste, our infrastructure, once the best in the world, crumbles......our education system is one of the worse in the world, (even though its the most expensive) ........our food supplies are tainted not only with toxins and sugars, but targeted towards those who cant afford better...and recently, we were told by the CEO of one corporation that clean water is not a human right.... and more and more politicians are deriding the poor, telling them its their own fault for not being able to live decently on $7.50 per hour....and some even wanting to do away with that. Whos to blame? Those who have outsourced American jobs. The corporations which have achieved record profits, paying no taxes and riding free on the coat tails of the employees who no longer have a voice and are working for substandard wages. The politicians who allow themselves to be bought to the highest bidder. Religious leaders who espouse these virtues as the word of God. The Wall Street thugs who simply have made us all pawns in their game of Monopoly. Our Supreme Court....who have successfully fallen into the grasp of the powers that be. And... those Americans who have lost the ability to understand that there truly must be a balance of power in our government. No party, Democratic or Republican, should be at the wheel of our republic. Only by a delicate balance of each can true progress be made. I could go on and on...but these are the thoughts foremost in my mind this morning. I fear whats to come, but will refuse to succumb to the fear. I will go on living the way I was raised to live, to work hard, to treat others with kindness and respect, to pay my fair share, and to help others when I can. To me, this is the value I learned as an American...and I will continue until my time here is finished. And that is what I call being a true American is all about.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 01:02:11 +0000